Table of Contents

1)Introduction
a)Analytical Assessment
b)Engagement of the Issue at Hand
c)Methodology
d)“Defining” Russia’s System – Additional Findings
e)Parallel Analytical Publications
2)The Idea of Russia
a)Introduction
b)The History and Perceptions of the Russian Idea
c)Symbology
d)The Russian Language
e)The Church
f)Romanticism
g)Putin Constituting the Idea of Russia
h)The Russian “Opposition” and the Idea of Russia
i)An Oppositionist Idea of Russia: Neo-Eurasianism and What It Is
j)Conclusions
3)The Respect and Spectacle of Russia
a)Introduction
b)Russia and a History of Respect and Empire
c)Respect from the “Ordinary” Russian
d)Respect FOR the “Ordinary” Russian
e)“The Crimean Question,” Invasions, and Respect
f)Respect+
g)The “Spectacle” of Russia
h)Conclusions
4)The Skill of Russia
a)Introduction
b)Education, Technology, and Markets
c)Productive Capability
d)The Connections of Russian Tech to the West
e)Military
f)Human Failings and Deterrence to Russia’s Skill
g)Political and Technological Deterrence to Russia’s Skill
h)Foreign Deterrence to Russia’s Skill
i)Conclusions
5)The “Allies,” Family, and Friends of Russia
a)Introduction
b)So, Who Are Russia’s, and Russians’, Allies?
c)The Relationship for the Russian People, and the Putin Regime, with Ukraine
d)Love, Hate, and the West
e)Russia and the Caucasus
f)The Eastern Powers
g)Central Asia
h)The “Family” of Russia
i)Russia’s and Russians’ Friends and Family - Conclusions
6)The Money of Russia
a)Introduction
b)Russia’s Government Budget and Where It Stands
c)Failed Privatization, and How Russia got to this Point
d)Natural Resources
e)Manipulation on Holdings, Banks, and the Shadow Economy
f)The General Corruption of All
g)Conclusions
7)Conclusions
a)Introduction
b)What We Know
c)Final Views
d)Three Themes Revisited
8)Bibliography
a)Newspaper, Television, and Media Sources
b)A Few On-Line Public Opinion Database Sources (mostly in Russian language)
c)Very Select Literature

About the Author

Jason C. Vaughn has worked as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. government, a researcher, an English teacher across Russia, a journalist with myriad publications, and an independent scholar.